Paul Stops Spending While Continuing Presidential Campaign

May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential candidate Ron
Paul won’t spend more money to compete in primary elections,
while trying to collect more national convention delegates at
state gatherings that could give him a greater voice in the
party.

Paul, 76, said in a statement yesterday he won’t officially
end his White House bid and will “carry a strong message to the
Republican National Convention” in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 27-30.
His candidacy has provided a platform for his libertarian views,
such as ending most taxes and auditing and dismantling the
Federal Reserve.

“There are strong things we can accomplish by continuing
this campaign, Jesse Benton, Paul’s chief strategist, said today
on a conference call with reporters. He said Paul supporters
will use convention delegates to push for a Republican platform
that includes changes at the Fed and ending indefinite detention
of people held for national security reasons.

Delegate Tally

Romney has 973 delegates, with 1,144 needed for the
nomination, according to the Associated Press, and is favored to
gain most of those at stake today in primaries in Nebraska and
Oregon.

Paul, who was Romney’s last active challenger, has 104 in
the AP tally. Romney “very likely has an insurmountable
delegate lead,” Benton said.

The nine presidential primaries remaining after today,
which include California’s June 5 contest, wrap up on June 26
when Utah votes. Romney should surpass the needed nomination
number well before the Utah primary, and perhaps as soon as
later this month.

Paul’s announcement yesterday was largely a reflection of
sagging campaign finances. He said in his statement that
spending money on any of the states that have yet to vote in
Republican presidential primaries “would take many tens of
millions of dollars that we simply do not have.”

His campaign had $1.8 million cash on hand at the end of
March, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission reports.

State Conventions

Paul supporters have been aggressively seeking delegates at
state party conventions, including in Maine on May 5 where they
won a majority of its delegation. Paul plans to attend the May
18-19 Minnesota Republican convention and 19 and believes he can
win there, too, Benton said.

Campaign manager John Tate sent an e-mail last week that
sought to distance the candidate from what Tate called a
“hostile takeover” of delegates in Idaho.

“The Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign condemns efforts
to expand its influence in the Republican Party in Idaho and
beyond when these activities are couched as vengeful,
underhanded, or markedly distasteful,” Tate said.

Paul supporter Ryan Davidson, a Republican official in Ada
County, Idaho, advocated a “scorched earth” tactic of securing
delegates at the June 22 state convention, the Idaho Statesman
reported.

“If two-thirds of the delegates to the Idaho state
convention are Ron Paul supporters, they can vote to suspend the
rules, overturn the results of the caucus and award all the
national delegates to Ron Paul,” Davidson said in a training
video, according to the Statesman.

Three-Time Candidate

This is Paul’s third bid for the presidency, having run as
the Libertarian Party’s nominee in 1988 and in the 2008
Republican contest, in which Senator John McCain of Arizona won
the nomination.

Paul, a former obstetrician-gynecologist, announced earlier
this year he wouldn’t seek re-election to his congressional
seat. His son, Rand Paul, is a Republican senator from Kentucky.

Paul’s views -- which include a return to the gold standard
and bringing home most U.S. troops from overseas -- have gained
him devoted followers.

“I am the defender of the Constitution, I am the champion
of liberty,” he said during his introduction at the Feb. 22
Republican candidate debate in Mesa, Arizona.

His candidacy this year, he said in his statement, “is
about the campaign for liberty, which has taken a tremendous
leap forward in this election and will continue to grow stronger
in the future until we finally win.”